Article-forming apparatus



y 1960 o. MANNISTO 2,935,112

ARTICLE-FORMING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 31, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

O. H. MANN ISTO ATTORNEY O. H. MANNISTO ARTICLE-FORMING APPARATUS May 3, 1960 Filed Aug. 31, 1954 FIG. 2

I I I ll ,I I I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 h INVENTOR. o. H. MANNISTO ATTORNEY a r 2,935,112 Umtecl States Patent C? Panama, 3,1,

2,935,112 ARTICLE-FORMING APPARATUS Orville H. Mannisto, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application August 31, 1954, Serial No. 453,202 7 2 Claims. 01'. 153-25 This invention relates to article-forming apparatus, and more particularly to form bends in wires of wire spring relay combs.

An object of the invention is to provide new and improved article-forming apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide new and improved apparatus for forming bends in wires of wire spring relay combs. 1

An apparatus illustrating certain features of the invention may include a pair ofopposed platens movable together and apart, a bending die having a forming face on one side thereof and a second forming face on the opposite side thereof. There may be also provided means for securing the forming die to one of the platens, a second forming die having a forming face on one side thereof and a second forming face on the opposite side thereof secured to the other platen, and means for mounting the dies reversibly on the platens.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained by the following detailed description of an apparatus forming a specific embodiment thereof, when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a fragmentary vertical section of an apparatus forming a specific embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section taken along line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 with the portions of the apparatus in different positions than shown in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a view of an article formed by the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, there is shown therein an apparatus for automatically forming bends 10 in wires 11 of a wire spring relay comb 12 in a molded block 13 around the wires 11. The block 13 is provided with a groove 14 on the face thereof slidable along a fixed guide bar 15 on a surface 16 by a reciprocable feed bar 17 having a pawl 18 for feeding the comb and other combs like it to the right, as viewed in Fig. 2. A latching pawl 19 serves to prevent the comb 12 from slipping back to the left when the feed bar 17 is moved to the left after once the comb 12 has been positioned in a recess or groove 24 in a holding pad 25 (Fig. 1) in proper position for dies 26 and 27 to be moved by platens 28 and 29 to form the bends 10.

The platen 28 is reciprocated by suitable means (not shown) toward and away from the platen 29 and has secured thereto the die 26 through flanges 31 (Fig. 2) and screws 32 projecting through bores 33 in the flanges 31. The die 26 is provided with an angular forming surface 34 of a predetermined angle which matches an angle formed by a face 35 of the die 27 and a face 36 of the pad 25 movably mounted on the platen 29 on a spacer and supporting block 38. The surface 35 is formed in the die 27 by a cutout portion 41 leaving side flanges or walls 42, and the die 27 is secured to the platen 29 by screws 43 mounted in bores 44 extending through the die 27. The die 26 is also provided with an angular forming surface 51 which has a different angle than the forming surface 34 and the die may be reversely mounted on the platen 28 so that the forming surface 51 projecting beyond the flanges 31 may depend downwardly from a block 52 secured to the platen 28, rather than the forming surface 34 depending downwardly therefrom. The die 27 also is provided with a cutout portion 54 leaving flanges 55 to form a forming surface 56 which is complementary to the sloping portion of the forming surface 51. When the die 26 is reversed, the die 27 also is reversed so that the forming surface 51 opposes the forming surfaces 36 and, 56 to form a complementary angle therewith.

A locating block 61 is provided for securing the die 27 to the spacer plate 62 between the platen 29 and the die 27 to hold the die 27 against the die block 38. The block 52 is provided with a stop or clamp 71 projecting therefrom and also has spring-pressed plungers 72 and 73 which project beyond the clamp 71 and the horizontal portions of the surface 34 of the die 26, and engage the pad 25 which is urged upwardly by spring pressed plungers 75 and spring 88. A locating pin 77 is mounted in a fixed position on the platen 29, and the pad 25 is provided with bores78 slidable on the pins 77. The pins 77 are provided with tapered noses 79 designed to enter bores 80 formed in the block 13 when the pad 25 is pressed downwardly in a guideway 81 formed in the block 38. A spring-pressed pin 85 is provided for stripping the combs from the pad 25 and pins 77. Springs 86 and 87 urge theplungers 72 and 73 to positions in which the plungers 72 and 73; engage the pad 25 just before the clamp,71 and the die 26 would press the wires 11 against the pad 25, and the springs 86 and 87 are sufiiciently strong relative to springs 88 that the springs 86 and 87 are not compressed until the pad 25 bottoms on the block 38.

Operation The feed bar 17 feeds the comb 12 along the surface 42 to a position in which the block 13 of the comb is on the pad 25 and the wires 11 are between the dies 26 and 27. The press then is actuated automatically by suitable means (not shown) to move the platen 28 toward the platen 29, and the plungers 72 and 73 engage the pad 25 and move it downwardly in the guideways 81 and the locating pins 77 enter the bores 80 of the block 13 to precisely locate the comb in the press. Then, as the movement of the platen 28 continues, the pad 25 bottoms, and the clamp 71 and the die 26 come down into clamping and forming contact with the wires. When the pad 25 reaches bottom, the forming surface 36 thereon forms a continuation of the forming face '35 of the die 27 and cooperates with the die 26 to form the bends 10 in the wire. The platen 28 then is reversed to pull the die 26 away from the die 27, the pad 25'rising with the die 26 to strip the comb from the die 27, and, when the pad 25 reaches the upper limit of its travel it strips the block 13 from the locating pin 77 and moves the block 13 onto the guide bar 15. Then the feed bar 17 is actuated again to feed the comb 12 out of the press and another comb into the press.

The above-described apparatus may be easily maintained and may be quickly adapted to form different angles in the wires of combs or difierent types of combs merely by reversing the dies 26 and 27 in the apparatus. Thus, the apparatus is highly flexible. The combs are surely and precisely located in the apparatus and are precisely formed therein.

It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of this invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is: V

I. An article-forming apparatus, which comprises a pair of relatively movable platens, a first die having first and second forming surfaces, said first die having flanges for mounting the die on a first of the platens with the first surface directed towards the second platen and the second surface in spaced relationship with the said first platen, a second die having a'first and second forming surface complementary respectively to the first and second surfaces of said first die, said second die having flanges for mounting the die on the second platen with the first surface, directed towards said first platen and the second surface in spaced relationship with said second'platen, a holding pad having a forming surface and movably mounted on the second platen, means for imparting a relative motion to said platens to move the forming surface of the holdingpad into position to form a continuation of either the first or second surface on the second die and forming a complementary surface for a portion of either the first or second surface of the first die and means for resiliently forcing the pad in spaced relationship to the first platen.

2. An article-forming apparatus, which comprises a movable platen, a first die having a forming surface on either side thereof, said die having flanges extending laterally beyond the forming surfaces for detachablyand' selectively mounting the die to said movable platen to present one or the other forming surface, a stationary platen having a recess therein, a second die having a recessed forming surface on either side thereof and each complementing a portion of one of the surfaces on the first die, said second die having flanges extending vertically beyond each surface for detachably and selectively mounting the die to the stationary platen to present one or the other forming surface, a holding pad slidably mounted within the recess in the stationary platen, said pad having an upper surface adapted to be moved to form a continuation of the presented surface 'on the second die and complementing the remaining portion of the presented surface of the first die, resilient means for forcing the pad from the stationary platen towards the movable platen, means for moving the movable platen towards the stationary platen to position the first and second dies in mating relationship, and means on the movable platen for forcing the pad within the recess in the stationary platen to move the upper surface into position to form a continuation of the presented surface of the second die before the mating of the first and second dies.

References Cited in the file. of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 331,934 Aiken Dec. 8, 1885 453,813 Jones et al June 9, 1891 648,703 McDowell May 1, 1900 798,530 Rehfuss Aug. 29, 1905 1,149,694 Sonneborn Aug. 10, 1915 1,464,501 Engel Aug. 14, 1923 1,520,921 Amt et al'. Dec. 20, 1924 2,102,572 Minkel Dec. 14, 1937 2,136,308 Miller e Nov. 8, 1938 2,339,032 Schlenzig Ian. 11, 1944 2,426,446 Funk Aug. 26, 1947 2,650,635 Kellogg Sept. 1, 1953 2,851,081 Klasek- Sept. 9, 1958 

